LHS 1140
system
LHS 1140 is a small, unusually quiet red dwarf 48.9 light-years away in Cetus, host to two TRANSITING rocky planets. The outer one, LHS 1140 b, is a temperate super-Earth in the star's habitable zone — dense, rocky, and one of the most promising nearby worlds in the search for water and an atmosphere; JWST began probing it in 2024.
Open in 3D viewSee LHS 1140 in the live, interactive 3D map
Key facts
Type
Red dwarf + 2 rocky planets
Distance
48.9 light-years
Confirmed planets
2
Planet b
Transiting temperate super-Earth
Science
Classification
- Type
- Single red-dwarf system (old, magnetically quiet)
- Central star
- LHS 1140 — M4.5V red dwarf (~3096 K, 0.18 M☉)
Planets
- Confirmed planets
- 2 · b (temperate super-Earth) + c, both transiting
- Measured
- Real sizes + densities (both transit)
Distance
- Distance
- 48.9 light-years · in Cetus
How we know
- Note
- Two confirmed planets (NASA Exoplanet Archive, checked 2026-07-05), both transiting, so their sizes and densities are genuinely measured — which is why LHS 1140 b is a headline target in the search for a nearby habitable world. Map distance is symbolic; the real gap is 48.9 light-years.
Discovery & history
- Name
- A catalogue designation (Luyten Half-Second star 1140).
Its planets were found transiting by the MEarth survey and confirmed by HARPS from 2017; JWST began probing planet b in 2024.
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image